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  • Busch rallies from the rear for a top-10 result at Richmond

    Busch rallies from the rear for a top-10 result at Richmond

    From a disappointing outcome at Darlington Raceway to rallying under the lights at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, it has been an eventful week for Kyle Busch in his quest to defend his NASCAR Cup Series championship. Despite a rough start with an interim crew chief atop the pit box, Busch was able to methodically work his way through the field and emerge with a top-10 result.

    Coming into Saturday night’s race at Richmond, Busch was also coming off a seventh-place run at Darlington a week earlier and without his crew chief Adam Stevens, who was serving a one-race suspension as a result of two lug nuts discovered not safely secured on Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry during post-race inspection. As a result, Jacob Canter, a rookie crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series who achieved one victory with Busch earlier this season, served as an interim crew chief for Busch and his No. 18 Cup team. 

    Before the race started, Busch, who was scheduled to start in sixth place, was sent to the rear of the field since his No. 18 Toyota failed pre-race inspection twice. When the race started, Busch wasted no time methodically working his way to the front. Following the first 10 laps of the race, he was scored in 26th place. Another 10 laps later, he gained four additional spots in 22nd place. By the time the competition caution flew on Lap 30, Busch had made his way up to 21st place. 

    Pitting under caution to deal with tight conditions to his car, Busch proceeded to march his way inside the top 20 throughout the first stage. When the first stage concluded on Lap 80, Busch was scored in 13th place.

    Lining up in sixth place for the start of the second stage, Busch kept himself running inside the top 10. At one moment in the stage, Busch cracked the top five. When the second stage concluded on Lap 235, he settled in sixth place and collected a handful of stage points. 

    Restarting in sixth place again for the start of the final stage, Busch stabilized himself within the top 10 as he also made another appearance in the top five. With 57 laps remaining, Busch emerged with the lead and he led four laps before he made a green flag pit stop. 

    Returning back on the track inside the top 10, Busch was all to gain a handful of spots for the remainder of the race under green to finish in sixth place for his 15th top-10 result of the season. Busch’s top-10 result came a day after he finished in third place in his fifth and final Xfinity Series start of the season at Richmond. With his result and finishing ahead of Playoff contenders like Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola, Alex Bowman and Clint Bowyer, Busch is in ninth place in the Cup Playoff standings and is 18 points above the top-12 cutline.

    “Kind of same as last night [in the Xfinity Series race],” Busch said on NBCSN. “Just not quite enough turn in the middle of the corner to keep wrapping on the long runs. The short runs it seemed like I was actually a little bit loose and then, it was starting to go a little bit tight and then, it was tight loose. Just not enough overall grip, I guess. Kind of been fighting that a little bit this year. The guys gave a great fight. Adam [Stevens] not being here and I thought Jacob [Canter] did a great job. We all know Adam was back at home. … Overall, that’s all we had. We fought hard with our M&M’s Camry and we came up short of a top-five. Good night for us.”

    Busch, along with his fellow Playoff contenders, will return for the next scheduled NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19, which will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Dillon shines under the lights at Richmond

    Dillon shines under the lights at Richmond

    It was another stellar performance for Austin Dillon in the early stages of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, this time at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, as the Welcome, North Carolina, native continued his late surge for an opportunity to contend for this year’s championship. On a night where he was hit with two curveballs, both involving pit road, he rallied and was in position of collecting an upset victory before he settled inside the top five when the checkered flag flew.

    Starting in third place and coming off a strong runner-up result at Darlington Raceway to open this year’s Playoffs, Dillon had early speed to start the race at Richmond. By Lap 12, Dillon made his way into second place after passing Joey Logano. Nine laps later, Dillon muscled his way into the lead after passing Kevin Harvick. After taking over the top spot, Dillon started to pull away from the field and he was able to maintain his advantage through the competition caution on Lap 30. 

    Retaining the leader under caution and following a stellar pit stop from his crew, Dillon was able to launch ahead with the lead. A lap later, however, Dillon was overtaken by Denny Hamlin for the lead. By then, he had led his first 17 laps at Richmond. Despite battling loose conditions to his No. 3 Dow Norkool Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, Dillon kept himself in contention for the lead. When the second stage concluded on Lap 80, he was scored in second place and collected a multitude of stage points.

    During the pit stops under the stage break, however, Dillon was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road, a situation that also affected Stage 1 winner Denny Hamlin. Restarting in 29th place for the start of the second stage, it took Dillon time to work his way back towards the front. 

    By Lap 100, he worked his way up to 29th place. Ten laps later, he moved up to 14th place. Another 11 laps later, he was scored in 11th place. With a fast race car on the long runs, Dillon and the No. 3 car emerged back with the lead on Lap 182. He went on to lead 36 laps before he was overtaken by Brad Keselowski. Dillon went on to finish in second place behind Keselowski in the second stage, which concluded on Lap 235, and collect more stage points.

    With 157 laps remaining, the final stage started with Austin Dillon still in contention for the win. Throughout the early portions of the final stage, Dillon struggled to keep pace with the leaders as he slipped back to the top 10. While the run progressed under green, Dillon’s car slowly came back to life as he marched his way back to the front. With 64 laps remaining, however, Dillon missed the entrance to pit road after having issues slowly his car down to enter pit road and with Kurt Busch closing in. To avoid a commitment line violation, Dillon cycled his way around the track and completed a successful pit stop, losing three seconds in the process and still having an opportunity to win. 

    Despite the late misfortune, Dillon battled his way back inside the top five and emerged with the lead with 48 laps remaining. He was overtaken, however, for good by Keselowski the following lap and he went on to post a strong fourth-place result, thus losing spots from Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano.

    By collecting his fourth top-five result of this season and racking up back-to-back top-five results for the first time in his Cup career, Dillon is in sixth place in the Playoff standings and is 36 points above the top-12 cutline approaching next weekend’s Round of 16 finale at Bristol Motor Speedway.  

    “It’s unfortunate,” Dillon said on NBCSN. “We had a speeding penalty, also. To come from the back to finish second in that stage, too, which is so awesome…This No. 3 team’s on fire right now and showing up when it matters. The biggest thing is when we came to pit road, we were trying to bring everybody down and The No. 1 car was in my mirror on tires. I overdrove that entry just a little bit thinking that I needed to avoid getting rear-ended, and then it was like ‘Oh no, I’m going to hit the red box’ so I had to make another lap around the track. That cost us three seconds. but anyways, great run and it’s a lot of fun out here. We’ll go to Bristol.”

    Dillon also took a shot at his skeptics and doubters as he sets his sights for next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway and the opportunity to stabilize his title hopes in 2020.

    “I hope they keep doubting us,” Dillon added. “We got a lot of work still. We’re putting ourselves in positions to win and you do that long enough, it pays off. We haven’t been here, we’re kind of new to this. We gotta keep running up here and those wins are gonna start clocking off. We need to make it happen when we got cars like this.” 

    Dillon, along with his fellow Playoff contenders, will return for the next scheduled NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19, which will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Truex and Logano claim podium results at Richmond

    Truex and Logano claim podium results at Richmond

    While Brad Keselowski earned a one-way ticket to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs after winning at Richmond Raceway, Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano emerged with strong results on Saturday, September 12, though they missed out on the victory. By rounding out the podium results, both are in stable positions to transfer to the second round of the postseason and heading into next weekend’s first round of eliminations at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    For Truex, he started in 14th place and was aiming to rebound from his late incident at Darlington Raceway last weekend that cost him an opportunity to win. By Lap 10, he was mired back in 13th place and battling with tight handling issues to his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry with no drive. He stabilized himself in 13th place when the competition caution flew on Lap 30. Following his first pit stop of the race, Truex was then able to make his way up into the top 10 as he settled in seventh place when the first stage concluded. 

    Moving up and restarting inside the top five for the start of the second stage, Truex started to make his way towards the front. When the race passed its Lap 100 mark, Truex made his way up to third place. He stabilized himself in third place throughout the second stage and was able to maintain the position when the stage concluded, thus collecting a bevy of stage points.

    Restarting on the front row for the final stage, Truex’s strong run towards the front continued as he spent most of the time battling Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Austin Dillon for the lead. With approximately 40 laps remaining, Truex was able to make his way to second place. Despite his late rally, Truex was unable to close the gap between himself and Keselowski as Truex settled in second place, 1.568 seconds behind and as the highest-finishing Joe Gibbs Racing competitor on the track.

    With his fourth runner-up result and 12th top-five result of the season, Truex is in fifth place in the Playoff standings and is 38 points above the top-12 cutline entering next weekend’s Round of 16 finale at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    “Never could really get the balance right,” Truex said on NBCSN. “It was slow on the short run early, slow on the long run late. Somewhere in between, we’d be pretty competitive but we could just never really put it all together. I was really surprised that we ran second after how it felt early in the race. I was like, ‘Oh, boy. This is gonna be a long night.’ I needed a little bit of practice time, another stab at it. Overall, solid day for our Bass Pro Toyota Camry. Thanks to everybody who helps us, who makes this possible, all the guys at the shop. It’s a good rebound week. You want to win every one of them but if we can run top two or three every week like we’ve been a while now, we’ll be where we want to be.”

    For Logano, he started on the front row alongside Harvick and battled towards the front throughout the early portions of the race. He stabilized himself in second place when the competition caution flew on Lap 30. Following pit stops under the competition caution, Logano continued to run inside second place throughout the first stage. When the first stage concluded, Logano was overtaken by Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon as he finished in third place in the first stage and collected a bevy of stage points for himself.

    For the start of the second stage, Logano found himself with the lead after leaders Hamlin and Dillon were penalized for speeding on pit road. Leading for the first time on Lap 85, he went on to lead 36 laps before he was locked on and was overtaken by teammate Brad Keselowski for the lead following a vicious battle. Having a competitive car throughout the stage, Logano went on to finish in fourth place in the second stage as he collected more stage points.

    Restarting on the front row with 157 laps remaining and to start the final stage, Logano settled in second place as he continued to pursue teammate Keselowski for the lead. Throughout the final stage, Logano remained at the front while battling Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Martin Truex Jr. for the win. Despite having a car strong enough to run towards the front, Logano was unable to close the gap between himself and Keselowski. In the end, Logano was overtaken by Truex for the runner-up spot as Logano crossed the finish line in third place.

    Settling in third place for the second consecutive weekend and for his eighth top-five result of this season, Logano is in fourth place in the Playoff standings and is 51 points above the top-12 cutline.

    Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “It was a pretty calm race and we just kind of hung around in the top three the whole time,” Logano said. “I felt like our car was pretty good in the beginning of the race. The track kind of tightened up a little bit and we lost a little bit of speed to [Truex] and [Dillon] a little bit and also, obviously, [Keselowski], congrats to those guys. They were fast today. It just seemed like if we fixed the turn I got loose off, so it seemed like pick your poison a little bit. It just seemed like we had third to fourth-place speed in our car and we finished third with the Shell/Pennzoil Mustang. We’re doing what we have to do. We scored stage points and a top five and puts us in a pretty good spot for next weekend. I’m proud of the effort and proud of what we’ve picked up here lately since the playoffs started. We just have to keep it rolling. If we keep getting top fives we’ll get all the way to Phoenix. We just have to keep doing that.”

    Truex and Logano, along with their fellow Playoff contenders, will return for the next scheduled NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19, which will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Cindric clinches 2020 Xfinity Series regular-season title

    Cindric clinches 2020 Xfinity Series regular-season title

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, produced mixed emotions for Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang for Team Penske. Despite struggling to keep pace with the leaders throughout Saturday afternoon’s race, a 10th-place run to cap off an eventful doubleheader weekend of racing at Richmond, Virginia, was enough for the Columbus, Ohio, native to claim this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season championship.

    After finishing in fourth place on Friday night at Richmond, Cindric rolled off the grid in 12th place as the top-14 finishers from Friday night were inverted for Saturday afternoon’s race. When the green flag waved, Cindric showed early speed at the start as he cracked the top five. With the race progressing into a long run, he started to fall off the pace through the turns and he even dropped out the top 10 in the closing laps of the first stage. Having a tire wearing out, Cindric was able to nurse his No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang across the line in 15th place.

    The second stage was an improvement for Cindric, who received adjustments at the start, made his way back into the top 10 on the track and was able to make a late rally on a late restart to finish in sixth place and collect valuable stage points towards the Playoffs and towards his lead in the regular-season standings.

    For the final stage, which started with 93 laps remaining, Cindric remained within the bottom half of the top 10 and was trying to bring his car back home in one piece and with an opportunity to wrap up the regular-season title. Despite a late restart with 13 laps remaining, Cindric was able to cross the line under the checkered flag in 10th place and to cap off an up-and-down weekend at Richmond.

    By virtue of his 10th-place run, the stage points he collected from the second stage and a strong 25-race regular-season stretch, where he notched five victories, 10 stage wins, 16 top-five results and 20 top-10 results, Cindric secured the regular-season title by being 71 points over fellow competitor Chase Briscoe, who achieved six victories throughout this year’s regular season.

    “I had a very frustrating day and I wish we would have been able to do more with our PPG Ford Mustang today,” Cindric said on pit road on NBCSN. “We sat down as a team at the beginning of the year and we all wrote down our top-three goals. I am not a big proponent of setting goals but we put something on paper and my number one was the regular-season championship. From the outside looking in that was maybe a lofty goal but we got a lot of speed and a lot of fight and I am really proud of that effort. We can’t have days like today, especially if we get to make it to the Championship Four. A lot of emotions right now but at the end of the day it is mission accomplished for sure.”

    With his accomplishment, Cindric, currently in his third full-time Xfinity Series season, became the fourth different competitor to claim the Xfinity regular-season title since its inception in 2017, joining names like Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier and Tyler Reddick who have also won the title prior to the Playoffs. In addition, Cindric will be awarded 15 bonus points for the Playoffs, which will commence at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 26, as he aims to join Brad Keselowski as the lone Xfinity competitors to win a Drivers’ Xfinity championship while driving for team owner Roger Penske.

    “[The goal to win the regular-season title] was frustrating because it felt so attainable,” Cindric added. “Especially in the months of June, there when we were at Atlanta and Pocono and Homestead, places where we had so much speed. The races just didn’t go our way and it felt like nothing was going our way. Then we go to Indy and had the same thing there. But then, we went on that run and it was really big for our points and the stats and the numbers show our consistency throughout the year. I am looking forward to [Bristol next weekend] and looking forward to pushing hard and seeing what this team is capable of over the next couple of months.”

    Cindric, along with his fellow Xfinity competitors, will cap off this year’s regular-season stretch at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 18, where the race will start at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Chad Knaus set for 700th Cup race as crew chief at Richmond

    Chad Knaus set for 700th Cup race as crew chief at Richmond

    A major milestone is the making for Chad Knaus, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning crew chief who is currently calling the shots for 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contender William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team. When the green flag waves in the upcoming Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, Knaus will reach 700 Cup races as a crew chief.

    A native of Rockford, Illinois, Knaus worked with his father, John, in races across the Midwest as he was also a crew chief for his father, who competed for the Rockford Speedway title. Together, they won a Great Northern Series championship and finished as the runner-up contender in the NASCAR Winston Racing Series. 

    In 1991, Knaus relocated to North Carolina to pursue a career in NASCAR. After starting his stock car career working for owner/competitor Stanley Smith, he teamed up with Hendrick Motorsports and worked his way up from being a general fabricator to a chassis and body construction manager for five seasons and while being part of the No. 24 DUPONT/HMS team driven by Jeff Gordon and led by crew chief Ray Evernham. Knaus was also a rear tire changer for Gordon’s No. 24 team and he was a part of the 1995 and 1997 championship seasons with Gordon.

    In 1998, Knaus moved to Dale Earnhardt Inc. and worked as a car chief for the team’s No. 1 car driven between Steve Park and Darrell Waltrip. He went on to work for Tyler Jet Motorsports and Melling Racing, where he led the Dodge development team and worked with Stacy Compton before he was promoted to crew chief for three races towards the conclusion of the 2000 season (two with Casey Atwood and one with Stacy Compton). For the 2001 Cup Series season, Knaus remained as a full-time crew chief for Compton. Throughout the 2001 season, Knaus achieved two poles and one top-10 result with Compton. He was also suspended for two races due to a seatbelt violation in March at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Compton failed to qualify for two races throughout the season.

    In 2002, Knaus rejoined Hendrick Motorsports to serve as crew chief for El Cajon, California’s Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team. In their first run together, Johnson won the pole position for the 2002 Daytona 500 with a pole-winning lap at 185.831 mph. After finishing 15th at the Daytona 500 in February and recording six top-10 results in the following eight races, Johnson and Knaus both achieved their first Cup career win at Auto Club Speedway in April. Overall, Johnson and Knaus won three Cup races and four poles as they also achieved six top-five results and 21 top-10 results before they concluded the season in fifth place in the standings, though Johnson was beaten by Ryan Newman for the Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    In 2003, Johnson’s sophomore season in the Cup Series, the combo achieved three victories, two poles, 14 top-five results and 20 top-10 results before concluding the season in the runner-up position in the final standings behind the champion Matt Kenseth. Following the 2003 season, Knaus surpassed 100 Cup starts as a crew chief. Throughout the following season, 2004, the combo recorded a season-high eight wins along with a pole, 20 top-five results and 23 top-10 results. Among the victories achieved between the two in 2004 included both Darlington races, both Pocono Raceway events, a second consecutive Coca-Cola 600 win, a win at Martinsville Speedway in October and a feel good victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway the following race and following a Hendrick Motorsports plane accident that claimed the lives of team owner Rick Hendrick’s son, two nieces, brother/president of HMS, lead engine builder, general manager, among others. Despite the victories and a productive junior season, Johnson and Knaus fell eight points shy of the title to Kurt Busch and veteran Jimmy Fennig. 

    In 2005, Johnson and Knaus achieved four victories, a pole, 13 top-five results and 22 top-10 results as they were the only Hendrick Motorsports team that had an opportunity to win the overall championship. During the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, however, Johnson wrecked just shy of the midway mark and he concluded the season in fifth place in the standings while Tony Stewart went on to win his second Cup title.

    Knaus started off the 2006 season on a rough note after he was caught making an illegal adjustment to the rear window of Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, thus being suspended for the first four Cup races of the season while Darian Grubb served as Johnson’s interim crew chief. Following the first four races, where Johnson and Grubb won the Daytona 500 and at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Knaus returned atop the pit box at Bristol in March. They achieved their first victory of the season at Talladega Superspeedway in May followed by the All-Star Race at Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway and the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August. Entering the postseason as a championship favorite, Johnson and Knaus, however, struggled during the first four races as they finished no nigher than 13th on track. They rallied at Charlotte in October as Johnson went on a five-race streak of finishing no worse than second place and picking up a win at Martinsville. After finishing in ninth place in the finale at Homestead in November, Johnson and Knaus achieved their first Cup championship by 56 points over Kenseth. With Knaus atop the pit box, Johnson won three races (five overall), one pole, 10 top-five results (13 overall) and 20 top-10 results (24 overall). By then, Knaus surpassed 200 Cup starts as a crew chief.

    In 2007, Johnson and Knaus won a season-high 10 races, which included sweeping the pair of season races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and at Richmond Raceway. When the checkered flag waved in the finale at Homestead, Johnson finished in seventh place as he and Knaus achieved their second consecutive Cup championship following a season-long battle with teammates Jeff Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte. Knaus also rallied from being suspended for six races throughout the summer following an inspection issue involving the templates on Johnson’s car at Sonoma Raceway (an issue that was also noted on Gordon’s car and resulted in a six-race suspension for Letarte).

    In 2008, Johnson, Knaus and the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team rallied from a slow start to achieve seven victories, six poles, 15 top-five results and 22 top-10 results throughout the season. When the checkered flag waved in the finale at Homestead, Johnson finished in 15th place and earned his record-tying third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship by 69 points over Carl Edwards, who had won nine races throughout the season. While Johnson tied NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough in achieving three consecutive Cup championships and Hendrick Motorsports recorded its eighth overall title, Knaus made history as he became the first Cup crew chief in history to achieve three consecutive titles as he accomplished the feat in his eighth full-time season as a crew chief.

    The winning dynasty between Johnson and Knaus, however, did not stop there as both achieved seven victories, four poles, 16 top-five results and 24 top-10 results throughout the 2009 Cup season. Following the finale at Homestead, where Johnson brought his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet to a fifth-place result, he achieved his record-setting fourth consecutive Cup championship by 141 points over teammate/NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin. As a result, HMS achieved its ninth title while Knaus became the first crew chief to win four consecutive Cup titles. In addition, Knaus surpassed 300 starts as a crew chief.

    Throughout the 2010 season, Johnson, Knaus and the No. 48 Lowe’s team achieved six victories, two poles, 17 top-five results and 23 top-10 results. Among the season highlights included winning for the first time at Bristol Motor Speedway and at Sonoma Raceway. Entering the finale at Homestead, they were trailing Denny Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford by 15 points. Following the finale, Johnson finished in second place and achieved his record-setting fifth consecutive Cup championship by 39 points over Hamlin, who finished 14th, and 41 over Kevin Harvick, who finished third. With Johnson’s accomplishment, Hendrick Motorsports achieved its 10th Cup title while Knaus became the first crew chief to win five consecutive Cup titles. In addition, Knaus surpassed Kirk Shelmerdine into second place on the all-time crew chief championship list in just his 10th season as a Cup crew chief.

    In 2011, Johnson and Knaus achieved two victories (Talladega and Kansas), 14 top-five results and 21 top-10 results, but the results were not enough for both of them to extend their championship run to six consecutive years as they concluded the season in sixth place in the final standings. At the start of the 2012 season, Knaus was at the center of controversy when Johnson’s No. 48 car failed pre-race inspection prior to the Daytona 500. Initially fined $100,000, suspended for six races and Johnson docked 25 points, Knaus was later spared from the suspension and the points dock, though he was still fined. Despite winning five races throughout the 2012 season, including the All-Star Race at Charlotte, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and at Darlington Raceway while recording the 200th Cup victory for Hendrick Motorsports with Johnson, misfortunes during the final two races prevented Johnson and Knaus from winning their sixth title as Brad Keselowski, crew chief Paul Wolfe and team owner Roger Penske went on to claim their first title. Following the 2012 season, Knaus surpassed 400 starts as a crew chief.

    In 2013, which marked the debut of the Generation 6 stock car and the new Chevrolet SS, Johnson and Knaus started the season on a high note by winning the Daytona 500 in February. While Johnson achieved his second Daytona 500 title and Hendrick Motorsports achieved its seventh, Knaus achieved his first 500 title as a crew chief. The dominance between Johnson, Knaus and the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team did not stop there as they went on to win six races, including the non-point All-Star Race. Among the records Johnson broke in 2013 included becoming the first four-time winner of the All-Star Race, winning his record eighth race at Dover and becoming the first Cup competitor to sweep Daytona since NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison made the last accomplishment in 1982. Johnson and Knaus also went on to achieve three poles, 16 top-five results and 24 top-10 results. When the checkered flag flew in the finale at Homestead, Johnson finished ninth and achieved his sixth Cup championship by 19 points over Kenseth. With Johnson and Knaus each achieving their sixth title and Hendrick Motorsports achieving its 11th overall, the talks about the driver and crew chief of the No. 48 team achieving an unprecedented seventh title began to circulate approaching the 2014 season.

    From 2014 to 2015, Johnson and Knaus won a total of nine races (including their fourth Coca-Cola 600 victory and a first win at Michigan International Speedway) and two poles as they also achieved 25 top-five results and 42 top-10 results. During both seasons, however, Johnson was unable to compete for the championship as his best points result was a 10th-place result in 2015. Prior to the conclusion of the 2015 season, Knaus achieved 500 starts as a crew chief.

    In 2016, which marked Johnson and Knaus’ 15th season of racing and working together with the No. 48 Lowe’s/HMS team, Johnson started the season by finishing 16th in the Daytona 500 before he won the following race at Atlanta and tied the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt on the all-time Cup wins list with 76 wins. Johnson achieved his second victory of the season at Auto Club Speedway in March and was consistent throughout the regular season to make the Playoffs. In October, Johnson won at Charlotte and transferred to the Round of 8 in the Playoffs for the first time in his career. He went on to win at Martinsville for the ninth time in his career and earn one of four spots to the Championship Round at Homestead in November with an opportunity to compete for the title. Throughout the finale, Johnson struggled and was behind his other three opponents (Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano) in the late stages. During the final 10 laps, however, Johnson benefitted on short-run speed, a late multi-car pileup involving Edwards and Logano, two late restarts and a two-lap shootout to win the finale and achieve his record-tying seventh Cup championship. Johnson’s accomplishment made him the third competitor to achieve seven Cup titles alongside Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt while Hendrick Motorsports achieved its 12th title. In addition, Knaus and Johnson tied Richard Petty and Dale Inman in achieving the most Cup championships by a driver-crew chief combo as Knaus moved himself in being one title shy of tying Inman for the most titles at eight.

    The following season, 2017, Johnson won three races, including his 11th victory at Dover and his seventh triumph at Texas Motor Speedway, and he recorded four top-five results and 11 top-10 results. Though he and Knaus made the Playoffs, their hopes for a record-setting eighth championship came to an end in the penultimate event of the season at Phoenix after Johnson wrecked and finished 39th. They went on to conclude the season in 10th place in the final standings. By then, Knaus surpassed 600 starts as a Cup crew chief.

    In 2018, Johnson and Knaus went winless for the first in their racing careers as Johnson only achieved two top-five results and 11 top-10 results before concluding the season in 14th place in the final standings.

    Following a 17-year run with Johnson that included winning seven championships and 81 Cup career wins, Knaus moved over from the No. 48 team to the No. 24 team to serve as crew chief for William Byron, the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and the reigning Cup Rookie-of-the-Year recipient. In their first race paired together, Byron recorded the pole position for the 2019 Daytona 500 after he and his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet posted a pole-winning speed at 194.305 mph. The accomplishment made between Byron and Knaus allowed Hendrick Motorsports to achieve its fifth consecutive Daytona 500 pole and the qualifying session was capped off with an HMS front row sweep for the main event as Alex Bowman and crew chief Greg Ives earned the other front row spot. Ironically, Byron’s first career pole at Daytona mirrored Johnson’s first career pole for the 500, both of which came under Knaus’ leadership.

    Byron and Knaus started off the Daytona 500 with a 21st-place after Byron was involved in a late accident. After finishing no higher than 15th place the following five races, they achieved their first top-10 result at Texas Motor Speedway in April (sixth place). Their next top-10 result came at Dover in May, where Byron finished eighth. During the Monster Energy Open at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Byron edged Bubba Wallace by a nose to transfer to his first All-Star Race appearance. Byron’s accomplishment allowed Knaus to extend his All-Star Race appearance to 18 consecutive seasons while the No. 24 car made its return to the main event following a one-year absence. Byron went on to finish ninth place in the All-Star event. The following two points races (Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and at Pocono Raceway), Byron started on pole position and finished ninth. The combo went on to achieve five additional top-10 results, including a career-best second place at Daytona in July and a fourth-place run at Indianapolis in September, to qualify for the 2019 Cup Playoffs. For the remaining 10 races of this season, Byron, Knaus and the No. 24 team achieved four top-10 results, including another runner-up result at Martinsville in October, before they concluded the season in 11th place in the final standings and after being eliminated from title contention following the second round in the Playoffs. Overall, Byron achieved five poles, five top-five results and 13 top-10 results in his sophomore Cup season.

    The combo started this season by winning the second Duel race at Daytona to line in fourth place for the Daytona 500, but they finished in last place of the 40-car field after being involved in a single-car wreck past the one-quarter mark of the race. Through the first 25 regular-season races together and despite being absent at Kansas Speedway while he and his wife Brooke were anticipating the birth of their daughter in July, Byron and Knaus have achieved one top-five result and seven top-10 results.

    Entering the regular-season finale at Daytona, they were four points above the top-16 cutline ahead of teammates Jimmie Johnson and Cliff Daniels in their bid to make this year’s Playoffs. When the checkered flag flew, Byron was able to hold off the field and claim his first Cup career win in his 98th series start. While he recorded his first victory, Knaus claimed his 82nd Cup career win and first since June 2017 at Dover. The win at Daytona guaranteed the No. 24 team into the Playoffs as Knaus made his 17th consecutive postseason appearance as a title contender.

    Byron and Knaus are coming off a fifth-place result in last Sunday’s Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway. They are ranked in ninth place in the Playoff standings and are nine points above the top-12 cutline in an effort to qualify for the second round in the Cup Playoffs.

    Catch crew chief Chad Knaus’ milestone start at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, which will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Greg Erwin to make 350th Cup start as crew chief at Richmond

    Greg Erwin to make 350th Cup start as crew chief at Richmond

    A significant milestone is the making for Greg Erwin, a veteran crew chief who is atop the pit box of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang team driven by 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contender Matt DiBenedetto. When the green flag waves this upcoming race weekend at Richmond Raceway, Erwin will reach 350 Cup races as a crew chief.

    A native of Hatboro, Pennsylvania, Erwin graduated from Clemson University in 1992 with an engineering degree and he attained a motorsports engineering scholarship the following year in graduate school while volunteering to work with teams that included TriStar Motorsports. In 1995, his career in NASCAR started with Diamond Ridge Motorsports as an engineer while he worked with names like Jeff Green, Steve Grissom and Elliott Sadler. Following the 1995 season, Erwin transitioned to Team SABCO Racing as an engineer, where the team was eventually purchased and expanded by Chip Ganassi in 2001. In 2003, Erwin joined forces with Richard Childress Racing and worked as the team’s seven-post research and development program.

    Entering the 2005 NASCAR Cup Series season, Erwin was promoted to crew chief for Robby Gordon and the No. 7 Robby Gordon Motorsports Chevrolet team. Erwin and Gordon failed to qualify for the 2005 Daytona 500, but they made their first start of the season the following race at Fontana’s California Speedway in February, where Gordon finished 35th due to an engine failure. Erwin and Gordon competed in 23 races throughout the 2005 season, where Gordon achieved one top-five result and two top-10 results before he concluded the season in 37th place in the final standings. The following season, Erwin completed his first full-time season in the Cup Series with Gordon, where he achieved one top-five result and three top-10 results before he finished in 30th place in the final standings.

    For the first 12 races of the 2007 Cup season, Erwin remained with Robby Gordon and Gordon’s No. 7 team. Through the one-third segment of the season, Gordon finished no higher than 15th place. Afterwards, Erwin was named crew chief for the No. 16 Ford team owned by car owner Jack Roush and driven by Greg Biffle for the following race at Dover International Speedway in June. From Dover in June through Dover in September, Erwin and Biffle achieved two top-five results and six top-10 results, though Biffle failed to make the 2007 Playoffs. The following race at Kansas Speedway, Biffle was able to survive on fuel and coast across the finish line to achieve his first victory of the season as Erwin achieved his first Cup win as a crew chief. They went on to achieve two additional top-10 results and conclude the season in 14th place in the final standings.

    In 2008, Erwin served as Biffle’s crew chief in all but one of the entire 36-race schedule (Auto Club Speedway in February). Following a consistent 26-race regular-season stretch, they achieved their first victory of the season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the first Playoff race of the season. They backed it up the following week by winning at Dover. Overall, Erwin achieved two victories, two poles, 12 top-five results and 17 top-10 results with Biffle, who concluded the season in third place in the final standings. Prior to the conclusion of the 2008 Cup season, Erwin surpassed 100 Cup races as a crew chief.

    In 2009, Biffle and Erwin went winless, but they achieved 10 top-five results and 16 top-10 results as Biffle made the Playoffs and concluded the season in seventh place in the final standings. They rebounded the following season by recording two wins, nine top-five results and 19 top-10 results, with Biffle finishing the season in sixth place in the final standings. Following the 2010 season, Erwin surpassed 200 Cup races as a crew chief.

    For the first half of the 2011 Cup season, Erwin remained as Biffle’s crew chief in the Cup circuit, but they only achieved one top-five result and five top-10 results. Following Kentucky Speedway in July, Erwin was replaced by Matt Puccia as Biffle’s crew chief for the remainder of the season. Fortunately, Erwin was then named crew chief for the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford team driven by A.J. Allmendinger for the remainder of the season. In Erwin’s first race with the team at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Allmendinger finished 22nd. Erwin and Allmendinger went on to record six top-10 results for the remainder of the season as Allmendinger finished in 15th place in the final standings.

    Erwin remained as crew chief for the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford team piloted by Aric Almirola. Following the first nine Cup races with Almirola, where he only achieved one top-10 result, Erwin, however, was replaced by veteran Mike Ford.

    For the 2013 season, Erwin was named a full-time crew chief for Penske’s No. 12 Ford Mustang team driven by Sam Hornish Jr. in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as Hornish competed for the series title. Erwin and Hornish made a one-race appearance in the Cup Series at Kansas in April, where Hornish finished 37th due to being involved in a late multi-car accident. Erwin and Hornish went on to finish in second place in the final Xfinity Series standings as they missed the title by three points to Austin Dillon, crew chief Danny Stockton and Richard Childress Racing.

    In 2014, Erwin was named competition director for Team Penske’s Xfinity Series program. Throughout the season, he served as a Cup interim crew chief for Brad Keselowski at Phoenix in March and he worked with Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 12 Ford team in two Cup races. He spent the 2015 season as an Xfinity crew chief for Penske’s No. 22 Ford Mustang team, where he notched seven victories and recorded Penske’s third consecutive owner’s title with Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Alex Tagliani piloting the No. 22 car throughout the season. The following season, he was named Penske’s Xfinity Series team manager while Brian Wilson served as the No. 22 team’s crew chief. He returned as crew chief for Penske’s No. 22 Ford team in the 2017 Xfinity season.

    In August 2017, Erwin was named crew chief for the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford team and Paul Menard for the 2018 Cup season. In Erwin’s first race with Menard, the combo finished in sixth place in the 2018 Daytona 500 in February. Ultimately, they achieved one pole, one top-five result and seven top-10 results throughout the 36-race schedule as Menard finished in 19th place in the final standings.

    The following season, Erwin and Menard achieved only four top-10 results as Menard concluded his second season with the Wood Brothers Racing in 19th place in the final standings. Earlier in the season, Menard dominated and was in race-winning position in the Clash at Daytona International Speedway in February until contact from eventual winner Jimmie Johnson knocked Menard out of contention as he was involved in a multi-car accident. Following the 2019 season, Erwin surpassed 300 starts as a Cup crew chief.

    This season, Erwin remained as a crew chief for the Wood Brothers Racing team and driver Matt DiBenedetto, who joined the team following Menard’s departure from full-time racing. In Erwin’s first race with DiBenedetto, the combo finished 19th in the 2020 Daytona 500. The following race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, DiBenedetto made a late rally to finish in second place behind Joey Logano. Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, DiBenedetto achieved two top-five results and seven top-10 results. After finishing in 12th place at Daytona International Speedway in August, DiBenedetto claimed the 16th and final transfer spot to the 2020 Cup Playoffs. DiBenedetto’s accomplishment marked his first Cup postseason appearance as a title contender, Erwin’s third as a title contender and the Wood Brothers Racing’s second as a Playoff team.

    Erwin and DiBenedetto are coming off a 21st-place result in the first Playoff race of this season at Darlington Raceway. They are ranked in 15th place in the Playoff standings and are 17 points below the top-12 cutline to advance to the second round of the 2020 Cup Playoffs.

    Catch crew chief Greg Erwin’s milestone start at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Kyle Busch to move into fifth place on all-time combined national series starts in NASCAR at Richmond

    Kyle Busch to move into fifth place on all-time combined national series starts in NASCAR at Richmond

    A significant milestone is in the making for Kyle Busch, a 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contender and driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry. By the time Busch completes his two scheduled starts this weekend at Richmond Raceway between the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series, he will surpass Michael Waltrip and move into fifth place on NASCAR’s all-time combined national series starts with 1,174 starts between the Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series.

    A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Kyle Busch made his first appearance within NASCAR’s three major division series in 2001 in the Truck Series, where he drove the No. 99 Ford for car owner Jack Roush at age 16. His first start was at Indianapolis Raceway Park in August, where he started 23rd and finished ninth place. He competed in five additional Truck races with Roush and was set to compete at Fontana’s California Speedway in November when he was prohibited from competing since he was under 18 years of age in racing in events sponsored by Marlboro cigarettes. Shortly after, NASCAR imposed a rule where developing competitors were not allowed to compete within the sport until reaching the minimum age of 18, which began in 2002.

    By 2003, Busch was a development driver for Hendrick Motorsports and competing in the ARCA Series, where he won his first two career races. In May, after turning 18 years of age, Busch made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway while driving the No. 87 ditech.com Chevrolet under an alliance between Hendrick Motorsports and NEMCO Motorsports. In his first run in the series, Busch posted an impressive second-place result behind Matt Kenseth and received congrats from his older brother and current NASCAR star, Kurt. He competed in six additional starts in the Xfinity Series, where he posted another second-place result at Darlington Raceway in August and a seventh-place result at Rockingham’s North Carolina Speedway in November.

    The 2004 NASCAR season was an eventful season for Busch, who competed the entire 34 Xfinity Series schedule with Hendrick Motorsports as a rookie candidate, made a one-race return in the Truck Series with team owner Rob Morgan and made his first six Cup career starts with HMS. In the Xfinity circuit, where he drove the No. 5 Lowe’s Chevrolet led by veteran Lance McGrew, Busch achieved five victories, five poles, 16 top-five results and 22 top-10 results before he concluded the season as the Rookie-of-the-Year winner and in second place behind Martin Truex Jr. In the Cup circuit, where he drove the No. 84 Carquest Chevrolet led by crew chief Gary DeHart, Busch’s best result was 24th place at California Speedway in September. In his one-race Truck start at Indianapolis Raceway Park in August, Busch finished 11th.

    Busch’s career would skyrocket the following season as he was named a full-time NASCAR Cup Series competitor for Hendrick Motorsports, piloting the No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet as a rookie candidate led by crew chief Alan Gustafson. During the season, he achieved his first two Cup career victories, one pole, seven top-five results and nine top-10 results before he was named the Rookie-of-the-Year recipient. He also won one race in 14 Xfinity Series starts and he claimed his first three Truck career victories in 11 starts throughout the season.

    Through September 2020, Busch has made 155 career starts in the NASCAR Truck Series. He is the all-time Truck wins leader with 59 career victories, which he achieved while driving for Billy Ballew Motorsports and Kyle Busch Motorsports, and he is a seven-time Truck owner’s champion with KBM. He has also achieved 22 poles, 102 top-five results, 123 top-10 results and over 7,000 laps led in 18 years in the series. His current average result in the series is 6.8.

    In addition, he has made 356 starts in the Xfinity Series and is also the all-time Xfinity wins leader with 97 career victories, which he achieved while driving for Hendrick Motorsports, Braun Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2009 Xfinity Series champion and holds the record for the most victories in a single Xfinity season (13 in 2010). He has achieved 10 or more victories in four Xfinity seasons. He has also achieved 68 poles, 219 top-five results, 257 top-10 results and over 19,000 laps led in 18 years in the series. His current average result in the series is 9.1.

    Finally, he has made 561 starts in the Cup Series and has achieved 56 career victories, all while driving for HMS and JGR. He is the reigning two-time Cup Series champion and a two-time Cup regular-season champion who has achieved major victories like the 2018 Coca-Cola 600, the 2017 NASCAR All-Star Race, two Brickyard 400s, the 2012 Clash at Daytona International Speedway and the 2008 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. He has also achieved 32 poles, 211 top-five results, 310 top-10 results and over 17,000 laps led in 18 years in the series. His current average result in the series is 13.7.

    To this day, Busch is the lone competitor to achieve a win across NASCAR’s three major division series in one weekend and to achieve a victory at every active NASCAR Cup Series track on the schedule.

    This season, Busch has completed the first 27 Cup races and has also made four starts in the Xfinity Series and five starts in the Truck Series. He has achieved three Truck wins and one Xfinity win, but he is winless in the Cup circuit despite recording one stage win, 11 top-five results and 14 top-10 results. He is coming off a seventh-place result in the first Cup Playoff race of this season at Darlington Raceway and is in 10th place in the Playoff standings, seven points above the top-12 cutline to advance to the second round of the Playoffs.

    In addition to competing in the Cup Series on a full-time basis with Joe Gibbs Racing, Busch is also scheduled to make his fifth and final Xfinity Series start this season with JGR in the first of a series doubleheader feature at Richmond Raceway.

    Prior to this season, Kyle Busch made 1,136 across NASCAR’s three major division series. Once he surpasses Michael Waltrip this weekend at Richmond, Busch will trail Joe Nemechek (1195), Richard Petty (1185), Kevin Harvick (1178) and Mark Martin (1143) for the most starts between NASCAR’s three major division series (Truck, Xfinity and Cup).

    Catch Kyle Busch’s milestone start at Richmond Raceway on Friday, September 11, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN, where he will extend his streak of starts between NASCAR’s three major division series the following day for the Cup Series Playoff race on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Byron to make 100th Cup start at Richmond

    Byron to make 100th Cup start at Richmond

    A significant milestone is in the making for William Byron, a 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contender and driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Hendrick Motorsports. When Byron takes the green flag this weekend at Richmond Raceway, he will reach 100 starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Byron was a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor for JR Motorsports when he was announced as a full-time Cup competitor for Hendrick Motorsports in August 2017 for the 2018 season, replacing veteran Kasey Kahne. Near the end of August, HMS then announced that Byron will be driving the iconic No. 24 car sponsored by AXALTA and Liberty University in 2018 while Chase Elliott, who was in his second season driving the No. 24 car, will be driving the 9 car, a number his father, Bill, drove, the following season. Three months later, Byron went on to claim the 2017 Xfinity Series championship.

    Byron made his Cup debut in the 2018 Daytona 500 with veteran Darian Grubb serving as his crew chief. He finished 23rd in his first start in NASCAR’s premier series after being involved in two separate incidents. Six races later, he recorded his first top-10 result, eighth place, at Texas Motor Speedway in April. Through the first 18 races of the season and in his rookie Cup season, Byron recorded one top-10 result and five top-15 results while also recording four DNFs. Near the end of July and the beginning of August, he recorded back-to-back top-10 results at Pocono Raceway (sixth place) and at Watkins Glen International (eighth place).

    By the time the regular-season concluded in September at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Byron was ranked in 22nd place in the regular-season standings and failed to qualify for the 2018 Cup Playoffs. For the final 10 Cup races of the 2018 season, he recorded only one top-10 result (ninth place at Phoenix Raceway), he sustained four DNFs and he concluded the season in 23rd place in the final standings. Despite the challenges to his rookie season, Byron was able to beat Bubba Wallace for the Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    In 2019, Byron was paired with seven-time championship-winning crew chief Chad Knaus, who completed a 17-year run with seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team in the Cup circuit. In Byron’s first run with Knaus, he recorded his first Cup career pole for the 2019 Daytona 500. Byron’s pole was the fifth year in a row where a car from Hendrick Motorsports earned the pole position for the Daytona 500 as he also recorded the 700th Cup pole for Chevrolet. Byron, however, finished 21st during the main event after being involved in a late multi-car accident.

    Following the first six races of the 2019 season, where he finished no higher than 15th, Byron recorded his first top-10 result of the season at Texas Motor Speedway in April (sixth place). Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Byron achieved four poles, three top-five results and nine top-10 results. He was able to rack enough points and consistent runs to make the 2019 Cup Playoffs along with teammates Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman.

    During the first round of the 2019 Cup Playoffs (three races), Byron finished seventh, 24th and sixth as he also claimed his fifth pole of the season at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. His results in the first round of the Playoffs were enough for him and the No. 24 team to transfer into the second round of the Playoffs. During the second round, he finished 13th, 33rd and sixth, and failed to advance to the third round of the Playoffs. Nonetheless, he went on to finish in second place at Martinsville Speedway in October and conclude his sophomore season in 11th place in the final standings.

    Byron and Knaus started this season off by winning the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway in February and lining up in fourth place for the Daytona 500. Despite starting the Daytona 500 strong, Byron’s run came to an end past the one-quarter mark of the race when contact from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. sent Byron spinning and making hard contact against the inside wall, ending his run in last place of the 40-car field.

    For the first 18 Cup races of this season, Byron achieved four top-10 results and was ranked in 17th place in the regular-season standings. He went on to achieve four additional top-10 results over the next 12 races. After finishing eighth, 28th and fourth the next three races, Byron retained the final transfer spot to the 2020 Cup Playoffs by a mere margin over teammate Jimmie Johnson.

    Then, the following week, Byron’s roller coaster start in the Cup circuit concluded after he held off teammate Chase Elliott and the field in a late shootout to score his first Cup career win at Daytona International Speedway, the regular-season finale, in his 98th series start. The victory allowed Byron, Knaus and the No. 24 team to claim a spot in the Playoffs. He also became the 19th different competitor to win while driving for Hendrick Motorsports, only the second competitor to win driving the No. 24 car along with NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon and he recorded the team’s 260th Cup career victory.

    Byron, who is a Cup Playoff contender for the second consecutive season, is coming off a fifth-place result in the first Playoff race at Darlington Raceway. He is ranked in ninth place in the Playoff standings and is nine points above the top-12 cutline to advance to the second round of the Playoffs.

    Catch Byron’s milestone start at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Harvick to start on pole position at Richmond

    Harvick to start on pole position at Richmond

    The 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick will start on pole position for the upcoming Cup Playoff race at Richmond Raceway, the Federated Auto Parts 400, on Saturday, September 12.

    Harvick, who won last Sunday’s first Playoff race of this season at Darlington Raceway and has punched his ticket to the second round of the Playoffs, was awarded the pole position based on four statistical categories: current owner points standings, the driver’s results, the owner’s results and the fastest lap time from a previous Cup race. This Saturday will mark the fourth time this season, third in the previous six races, where Harvick will start in first place and lead the field to the start of a Cup Series race.

    Joey Logano, who finished in third place last Sunday at Darlington, will start alongside Harvick on the front row for Saturday’s race at Richmond while Austin Dillon, who earned a strong runner-up finish at Darlington, will start in third place. Alex Bowman and William Byron, teammates at Hendrick Motorsports, will start fourth and fifth followed by Kyle Busch, a six-time Richmond winner who has yet to record his first victory of this season.

    Denny Hamlin, Busch’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing and a three-time Richmond winner, will start in seventh place followed by Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski and Aric Almirola. Clint Bowyer, a two-time Richmond winner, will start in 11th place followed by Chase Elliott, Cole Custer, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto.

    Erik Jones will start in 17th place and as the highest-starting non-title contender followed by Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Michael McDowell.

    Starting in positions 21-29 are Ryan Newman, Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, Ty Dillon, Daniel Suarez and Brennan Poole.

    Starting in positions 30-38 are Bubba Wallace, John Hunter Nemechek, J.J. Yeley, Quin Houff, Corey LaJoie, Reed Sorenson, Joey Gase, Timmy Hill and James Davison.

    The second NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race of this season at Richmond Raceway will occur on September 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • How FIA’s Formula E is fast becoming a new international commodity

    How FIA’s Formula E is fast becoming a new international commodity

    How can someone address why ABB Formula E racing has become one of racing’s hottest commodities on an international level? Granted, the star power of someone like Lewis Hamilton or Bubba Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Sebastian Vettel is noticeably absent. Instead, drivers such as former NASCAR standout Nelson Piquet Jr. have hoisted the championship trophy while drivers such as Stoffel Vandoorne and Felipe Massa are regulars on the grid. OEMs aren’t an issue in the paddock; Mercedes, Porsche, and BMW all have entries on the grid along with Jaguar, Nissan, and Audi.

    There are some familiar names associated with the sport. Former IndyCar organization Dragon Racing become one of the founding Formula E teams in 2014 and was renamed GEOX Dragon, while fellow IndyCar group Andretti Autosport has also branched into the series with BMW i Andretti Motorsport. Other organizations include Indian conglomerate holding company Mahindra and Chinese manufacturer NIO.

    Some of the appeal of the all-electric racing division goes into the international aspect. Races are held all over the world, with events in places such as New York City, Marrakesh, Saudi Arabia, and Berlin. But what makes the events draw such big numbers for a relatively young form of racing is its fan appeal. The events are curated around fan participation, with fans participating in such initiatives as Fanboost, where fans vote for which drivers to receive a brief boost of power during the race. This is akin to the “Attack Mode,” where drivers access a predetermined strip of the racetrack; accessing this during the race will also bring them a brief boost of power. That’s like playing a racing video game like MarioKart or GTA Online and achieving a boost on a portion of the race track, although the power is actually doled out from race control.

    But it’s in this electric aspect that the whole field seems to be equal in competition, making the race more about the driver than the car. That’s not to say what’s going on with the car isn’t awesome (although it’s sad to see that the teams won’t switch entire cars on pit stops like they used to). But the Formula E division has become a playground for drivers of all disciplines, and it’s been entertaining to see which drivers would succeed. All of this is considering the monotony of some of the other racing divisions with FIA in their title (looking at Hamilton’s F1 dominance, here).

    Rather, the cars are evenly matched up in making it as close of a race as possible. For that matter, most events are held on street courses which keep the competition tight; winning the race by several second or several laps is unlikely. Formula E’s product has become the sort of thing other FIA divisions wish they could be, to put it bluntly: Fan-friendly and highly competitive.

    Formula E exploits one of the greatest things about motorsports: Science. The science that goes into a competitive race team in any discipline is something to behold, yet in Formula E it’s actually part of the team’s mission. This is what goes into the car. And this. And this. This too.

    For that matter, Formula E also disproves some of the notions that some hold regarding what makes motorsports appealing. The cars aren’t loud but sound like slot cars on a track. They’re slower than a stock car, an IndyCar race car, or even an F1 car. The events aren’t endurance events, clocking at 45 minutes plus a lap. Then there’s the matter of prestige, as Formula E’s first season was 2014. There hasn’t been enough time for an event to build up a history like you’d find at Indy, Daytona, or Monaco.

    Still, the series has been growing and establishing itself as a gift for the fans. The base is growing in both fans and supporters, and that makes a huge difference in the success of Formula E. If the product has a say in anything, however, then it looks like the FIA has found the formula it needs to make Formula E a heavy hitter in the racing world.